Projects

Community projects are projects run by makers and fabbers in our community. Join them at start learning by doing!

Project Name

Description

What has been done

What need to be done

How you can help

On-going projects

SenseHCMC

This project aims to collect environmental data of Ho Chi Minh City and beyond, first by building a low-cost environmental sensing device. Sensed data include temperature, humidity, noise, UV, light intensity, dust, and toxic gas concentration. With many such devices installed and sending data from all round the city, gradually we will have a detailed picture of the air quality and other health-affecting factors that are not publicly available.

July 2015

– A prototype that runs on Arduino Uno, and ESP8266 – a Wifi chip – that uses AT firmware was built. The system is not reliable due to the wifi chip’s instability. We decided to find another Wifi chip with better performance and documentation.

Dec 2015

– Found NodeMCU v1.0 board, another Wifi chip with more friendly hardware that runs on NodeMCU firmware.

Feb 2016

– Set up a prototype that runs on NodeMCU firmware and monitor 24/7 operation

1. Server sponsorship

2. Design a friendly data visualization interface

3. Hardware designer to design a simplified circuit specific for this task and put all separate components into an integrated device

4. Design a protection box for the device

5. Get funding from organizations to build and install SenseHCMC devices all over the city

– Assist in building up a live view graph display temperature & humidity

NFT Hydroponics

In this urban gardening experiment, we are building a hydroponic system that uses Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) on the rooftop of Fablab Saigon. This technique means nutrients are circulated in a constant and shallow stream of water that runs through plant roots.

Jan 2016:
– PVC structure built
– Water flow is ok.
– Seeds are being sown in cups

1. Recommendations of where to buy nutrient liquids, mycorrhizal fungi, rockwool cubes
2. How to cool circulated water to around 20 degrees in order to dissolve more oxygen and prevent growth of fungi
3. Develop an automatic nutrient sensing and control system